Thoughts about return For the both of us we knew this trip was not going to last forever. For others they have managed to make a travelling trip last for a few years because they are travelling journalists or they do volunteering in areas and get board and lodging. Many also couch surf to save costs. There are many ways to save and cut costs, the biggest outgoings are usually transportation and lodging. You could stay in one way for a long period of time thus cutting out transport costs. Either way it had to end because we only have a finite amount of money. Our original plan was to go to New Zealand and look for work there but more likely in Australia and then to hopefully have got sponsorship or pay up for the visa. We haven’t done this but our plan is still to go and live in New Zealand because it is a naturally beautiful place. We are returning to the UK for long-term reasons of ensuring we have money for retirement and also to fund a tour of Europe. I know we could have managed this from the other side of the world but in an age where most people work you’d be hard-pressed to find someone turning down a well paid job. The decision has been made and although not necessarily the most interesting or indeed popular decision you have to be practical about things sometimes and weigh up the pros and cons. Returning to the UK or even starting out in New Zealand ends the trip around Asia. We haven’t finished our tour of Asia and so we have unfinished business with visits to Malaysia, Singapore and Borneo. Now is not the right time of year to visit as it is extremely hot and humid there so we want to come at a more ideal time of year probably via Japan, our favourite country of the whole trip. We also want to return to Nepal to complete Everest Basecamp and the 3 passes. Although, in my current state I have no idea how I walked over a 5416m high pass. When will we do this? We have no idea at all but I find it best to plan and set goals to keep you motivated. For me, I do not want to stay in the same place for my whole life. In today’s society and in my line of work you don’t get jobs for life anyway. Prior to travelling I always wanted to go and visit places, to explore and to see the world. This has been cemented as a result...

We have now been travelling for one month and I thought it would be a good idea to look back over the last month and think about what we have experienced and if we have learnt anything. First of all it doesn’t feel like we have been on the move for a month. I’m not sure how long it feels, but not very long, maybe a normal two week holiday kind of length. In addition, it doesn’t feel like the other side of the world. I was looking at our travel map on this blog and thinking about how far we have travelled and how far we are from home, but it really doesn’t feel like it. Since arriving in China and Vietnam I haven’t really felt like an outsider. Probably because most of the places in Yunnan were full of Westerners and since arriving in Vietnam all the menus and signs are in English, almost everyone in town in a westerner and all shopkeepers speak English. In Warsaw and Kiev we really felt like outsiders. No-one spoke English. No signs were in English. Everything was confusing. That really felt like travelling, in fact so much so that we felt further from home in Poland and Ukraine than in China. It might have been because those were the first destinations right at the start of the trip and we were just getting used to travelling or it might have been because Eastern Europe felt very different. I don’t think it was the language barrier because we had it in China and didn’t have any real problems communicating what we wanted, Eastern Europe just had ‘other worldly’ feeling. Neither of us liked Russia (it’s not just us been negative, everyone we have spoken to who has been to Russia also didn’t like it). It started from the moment we bordered the train from Kiev to Moscow. The train itself was awful, we had first class two person cabin, but it was by far the most basic cabin we have had on this whole trip. The train (supposedly as express train) was probably going as fast as possible on very old track. The noise it made was incredible and all night the banging and clanging, not to mention the corners (it felt like the train was coming of the track) meant we had no sleep all night. Most of our disappointment in Russia came down to three things. Lack of migration card All attractions were closed Everyone was unhelpful and unfriendly On arrival to Russia everyone receives a migration card. You keep this with you and hand it back upon exit...